The Seven Holidays King
by KingOfUberworld
Summary: Set one year after Oogie's Revenge, boss fights and bizarre hijinks ensue as Jack Skellington forges an unholy allaince to defeat an enigmatic supervillain and his impulsive sidekick. Reviews would be nice!
1. Prolouge

**The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Seven Holidays King**

New York, Central Park, December 21st 1995, 11:05pm

It was a curious and unsettling night in Manhattan. Curious, in that almost all of the city was sleeping soundly without so much as a baby crying, and unsettling, with the full moon that hung overhead, the fog that shrouded the streets and the overall deathly silence in the air. The stars glimmered brightly upon the city and there was not a cloud in the night's sky that would suggest that strange things were soon to be happening. Then amongst it all, upon the street leading into the forest of central park, the fog wavered and parted, as if it were a curtain at a theatre lifting to reveal a performance about to start, and a dark figure, as foreshadowed as his surroundings, stepped through and stood, silent and resolute, at the gateway

Professor Malicious looked at the gate leading into Central Park. He had suddenly become uncertain of were his route was taking him. He reached into his pocket, took out his PDA, and checked the GPS program he had downloaded. Yes, this was the place all right. He sighed, quite a remarkable feat for a man such as him, as he no longer had any breath with which to sigh.

The Holiday World Nexus. It was only by chance that he had found out about it, and when he did, it was in the way most things of the sort are discovered, through a drunken old man at a seedy bar. He had not learned much before the man had collapsed in a stupor, but what he had gleaned thus far was most intriguing

Apparently, there existed seven different alternate realities based on the modern day perception of the Christian and American holidays. No surprise there, Professor Malicious could well imagine the odds of such worlds existing in this crazy, mixed-up web of realities. What was infinitely more interesting was that the worlds actually patterned out their respective holidays on earth year after year, and they could all be accessed from a certain forest clearing, the eponymous Nexus.

The location of the Nexus, however, was a 'closely guarded' secret, and cannot be found, except by those who already know where it was…or, alternatively, those who had a map. After the drunken man went home, Professor Malicious had tracked him, ransacked his home and eventually found a map, which he downloaded onto his PDA and followed all the way…to here. This is where it was supposed to be, but why here, of all places, in such an obvious place? It didn't make sense.

Just as he was pondering this, there was a sudden murmuring noise from below. **"Yes, we are 'there yet', or rather, here now, I think." **replied Malicious in his usual emotionless, metallic tone. There was a hissing sound as a compartment opened in his steel waist and a 30cm tall creature resembling a featherless monobrowed vulture flopped out gasping for air. "Geeze Prof, ya really need ta get some airholes in dat thing."

"**The problem, Jasper, lies entirely in your refusal to shower-"**

"Blah blah blah." Interrupted Jasper, and hopped onto Malicious' shoulder, "Jest get us were we're supposed ta be so dat I can get some shuteye." Malicious growled and swatted Jasper off his shoulder in one swift movement. Soon, the Professor thought, soon I can finally get my revenge, and the humans will be sorry that they ever evolved!


	2. Preperations And A Drop Of Poison

The moon glided silently over the obscure world of Halloween Town where a great commotion was brewing. Decorations were being flung in the air, buildings were being overhauled, and the Halloween anthem filled the air:

Shadow: _Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

Cyclops: _Come with us and you will see, this our world of Halloween._

Ghosts: _This is Halloween! This is Halloween!_

Behemoth: _Pumpkins scream in the dead of night._

Ghosts: _This is Halloween! Everybody make a scene!_

Harlequin demon: _Trick or treat, till the neighbors' gonna die of fright!_

Ghosts: _It's our world, everybody scream! In this World of Hallow…_

Creature under the bed: _I am the one hiding under your bed; teeth filed sharp and eyes glowing red!_

Man under the stairs: _I am the one hiding under your stairs, fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair._

Ghosts: _This is Halloween, this is Halloween,_

Vampire1: _Halloween!_

Vampire2: _Halloween!_

Vampire3: _Halloween!_

Vampire4: _Halloween!_

All vampires: _In this world we call home, everyone hail to the pumpkin song!_

Mayor: _In this world, don't we love it now? Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!_

Pumpkin Patch chorus: _'round that corner, man, hiding in the trash can, something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll-_

Devil: _Scream!_

Igor: _This is Halloween!_

Melting Man: _Orange, black and slimy green!_

Wolfman: _Aren't you scared?_

Witches: _Well, that's just fine! Say it once, say it twice, take a chance and roll the dice, ride with the moon in the dead of night._

Hanging Tree: _Everybody scream! Everybody scream!_

Hanged men: _In this world of Hallow…_

Clown: _I am the clown with the tear away face! Here in a flash and gone without a trace!_

Lone Specter: _I am the who when you call "Who's there?" I am the wind blowing through your hair._

Oogie Boogie's shadow: _I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright!_

Ghosts: _This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_

Corpse Kid Trio: _Tender lumplings everywhere, life's no fun without a good scare!_

Corpse Dad: _That's our job._

Corpse Mom: _But we're not mean._

Corpse Parents: _In our world of Halloween!_

Mayor: _In this town, don't we love it now? Everybody's waiting for the next surprise._

Dark Lagoon leeches: _Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back and scream like a banshee, make you jump out of your skin!_

Pumpkin patch chorus: _This is Halloween, everybody scream!_

Cyclops: _Won't you please make way for a very special guy._

Pumpkin Patch chorus: _Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch._

Gatekeeper: _Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!_

Ghosts: _This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_

Harlequin demon: _In this world, we call home._

Grim Reaper: _Everyone hail to the Pumpkin Song!_

All Townsfolk: _La la la la la la! Halloween! Halloween! La la la la la la! Halloween! La la la la la la la la! Halloween! La la la, la la la, weeeee!_

"Magnificent, magnificent!" laughed the Mayor, "Good work everyone! Now go and lay things out for reception, and be quick! We only have a few hours, remember!" So saying, the mayor put down his microphone and was about to leave to oversee the residential area when he spotted a familiar skeletal figure striding down the road. "Jack!" He said, "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Good evening Mayor!" said Jack, in his usual cheery tone. "How are the preparations going?"

"Splendid, Jack! Now I've decided to include some more people for the anthem, so there'll be a slightly different line-up, but apart from that the rats have had a go at the decorations so they'll be extra horrible" the mayor said and grinned widely.

Jack, however, did not see the good part of that and frowned. "Why, what's the matter, Jack?" asked the mayor, his head turning to show his unhappy face.

"Oh, nothing," Said Jack "It's just, well, you haven't seen Sally at all, have you?"

"No," Said the Mayor "She's been keeping to herself a lot lately, hasn't she? I understand your concern."

"Well," sighed Jack, "She has to be around somewhere."

"That's true." The Mayor concurred. "It's her wedding day after all."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to all and outside the forested paths of the hinterlands, something was stirring. The wind was picking up and the ground was starting to tremble, as if heralding the arrival of some terrible force. Then all of a sudden, Prof Malicious literally fell out of nowhere and made a perfect three-point landing on the ground, shortly followed by Jasper unceremoniously dropping into the bushes. "My Gad," gasped the creature as it climbed out of the branches, "Dat was the ride from bloody 'ell!"

"**There is no need for any blasphemy, Jasper.**" Said Malicious, getting up and brushing himself down, "**I believe we have arrived**."

Just a few moments ago, he and Jasper had reached the Holiday World Nexus. There, they found a ring of trees, in each of them were carved wooden doors, representing Independence day, Thanksgiving, Valentine's day, Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick's day and Halloween, respectively. Malicious had decided to send his 'little surprises' over to Independence and Thanksgiving day, while he set up his base of operations in Halloween, since it had always been one of his favorite times of the year.

Now here they were, but the word 'arrived' had barely passed his animatronics lips when the air suddenly grew cold, and a number of spectral shrouds began to rise towards the newcomers, groaning and swaying in the air in hopes of frightening the visitors.

"**Can I help you?**" Asked the Professor, as coolly as possible.

"_**BEWAAAARE!!**_" Cried the ghosts in their scariest voices. "_**We have risen from beyond the graaave to terrorise the liiiviiing! Bewaaare! BEWAAARE!**_" As they circled above, Malicious stood his ground, smiling with his neon mouth at their pitiful attempts at scaring.

"Shut up, de lot of ya!" Jasper, however, was having none of it. "What do ya need, what do ya want, can I not just go about my life without having ta occasionally deal wid you assholes?!"

Naturally the ghosts were frightened and alarmed, as none of them had ever been shouted at so harshly, or for that matter been reacted to with anything but fear. Some just floated there, stunned, others cowered in terror, while the younger ones fled in tears. "Yeah, you'd better run, you ectoplasmic freaks!" shouted Jasper just before an annoyed Malicious kicked him away. With that irritation dealt with, Malicious took a good look at his surroundings.

"**Ah, So macabre, so deathly, like a gothic storybook. It reminds me of…**" He stopped, and his face-like mask fell.

"What? Reminds ya o' what?" questioned Jasper.

"**Oh, nothing you would understand. A child from the school days of yore**."

"Oh, yeah, one of der massacre victims, right?"

"**Actually, no. She left in the autumn…"** He saw Jasper's bemused expression.** "I mean, fall, just before I began my little slaughter on those LICE INFESTED WRETCHES**!"

"Lice infested wretches." Repeated Jasper. " If she was one o' dem what brings dat speck o' sentiment to your eye?"

"**Oh, she was never one of them, she was… an integral element in my life.**"

"A special someone, maybe?"

Malicious crushed Jasper underfoot, while the ghosts, now intrigued by the figure's anecdote, silently gathered round.

"**No!**" snapped Malicious. "**I mean, we were never an item. She was…a kind of balance. Where my life was carefree and happy, her gothic attitude always darkened the day. Most of my days are darkened now….**"

As he spoke a strange music filled the air, none could be sure if it was their imaginations or the mystical energies of the Halloween world. Either way, Malicious began to sing to it with the first words that came to his head, and the result came out something like this:

Malicious: _I like my town with a little drop of poison. Nobody knew I was lining up to go insane. I'm all alone, I smoked my friends down to the filter, but I feel much cleaner after it rains._

_Yes, she left in the fall, that's her picture on the wall; she always had that little drop of poison._

As he sang, he began to move away from the scene, Jasper and the ghosts following close behind. "**But, what am I saying.**" He continued, more to himself than anyone. "**She was a human, dammit, a human! Being so exceptional does not exclude her from that filthy superstitious species! All those narcissistic insects scurrying around today, it makes me wonder…**"

Malicious: _Did the devil make the earth while god was sleeping? You'll never get a wish from a bone. Another long goodbye, and a hundred soldiers, that deep blue sky is my home._

Jasper: _And she left in the fall, that's her picture on the wall; she always had that little drop of poison…_

"**This isn't a duet.**"

"Oh, sorry."

Malicious: _Well a rat always knows when he's in with weasels. There, you lost a little every day. But I remember when a million was a million. They all have ways to make you pay._

Malicious and the ghosts:_ Oh, she left in the fall, that's her picture on the wall; she always had that little drop of poison._

"Hey!" Shouted Jasper. "Didn't you hear 'im? 'E said no singing along!"

"**What? Oh, it's them again**."

"Don't stop singing," Whispered the spirits. "We rather enjoyed it."

"**Well, it was the end of the song anyway…**"

"So ya can go and stick it up yer…"

"**Shut up Jasper!**" Malicious suddenly realized how useful some undead followers could be. "**Say, do you people double as mercenaries?**"


	3. Banding Together and Up to No Good

In amongst the pumpkin patch, far away from all the hubbub of the Wedding plans, three costumed children were busy pursuing insects and creepy crawlies. Well, two were anyway. One of them, a girl dressed as a witch, seemed to be doing nothing except boss them around. "Come on, Shock, this is taking forever." Groaned one of them, a boy dressed in a skeleton costume. "Less talking, more collecting, Barrel!" Barked Shock, for that was her name, "We're only 1000 more bugs from bringing Mr Oogie back to life!"

"Shock, we've been at this for days now." This boy was dressed in a devil costume and went by the name of Lock. "Can't we take a break?"

"Are you crazy?" Exclaimed Shock. "This wedding thing is the only chance we're going to get if we want to…"

"Hey guys, what's that sound?" It was Barrels' turn to speak now, and as the other two craned to listen, they heard talking in the distance:

"**I suppose you'd enjoy spookghetti then, hmm? I used to be partial to some Bacon and Kaiser Roll myself, with Worcester sauce, naturally."**

"Someone's coming! Hide!" Cried Lock, and the three leapt for cover. Peaking through they holes in the pumpkin they were behind, their eyes beheld the most bizarre sight they had ever seen. Not twenty feet away, a parade of ghosts glided across the hillside in a line, and at its head strode a tall, dark stranger, the likes of which none of the three had ever seen. Each of them doubted this was all in honour of the wedding, but at the same time, they could not think of any other reason why this inexplicable occurrence should take place.

Eventually, Lock came to a conclusion, since their leader was clearly not from around these parts; the only logical course of action was to take pot shots at the thing. All anxiousness having dissipated, Lock loaded his slingshot, aligned it with his target and before anyone could stop him, fired a pellet at the back of the silhouette's head.

Immediately the party came to a screeching halt, the figure turned its' eyes upon the trio's hiding place, and a beam of sapphire light flooded over the three pranksters. The light came directly from the shadowy figures eyes, no question about that, and through it came a furious glare that seemed to plunge a knife through the three's souls, bringing out their fear, their anxieties, their primal terror. Still hypnotised by the terrible glare of the malevolent wanderer, the children slowly backed away, before breaking into a blind run towards the town. They did not go three metres, however, before an ebony cane blocked their' exit.

"**Isn't it a little late for young ruffians such as yourselves to be wondering around without parental supervision?"** The figures' voice was hollow, booming, and metallic, and reverberated around the trick-or-treaters' minds as the spectres closed around them. **"Not causing trouble among respectable citizens I hope? Or perhaps merely…asking for trouble."** The three were too terrified to make any form of reply and were still trying to get their heads around the being's materialisation when suddenly a revolting birdlike creature crawled upon the beings shoulder, casting a direct contrast to the figure's shadowiness even at this distance. "Spit it out, ya bunch o' midgets befer I cut out yer tongue!" Cawed the creature in a nasal Brooklyn accent. **"That will do Jasper. Go back in your compartment."**

"Oh no, I 'aint done with dose punks yet!"

"**I SAID that would do!"**

"You 'aint the boss o' me!"

The shadowy person grabbed the creature he had dubbed Jasper by the neck and was about to pulverise him when suddenly the unnerving clang of church bells in the distance fixated his attention. **"There seems to be quite an occasion down at the town, a wedding of some sort." **Noted the man. **"Should you not be attending?"**

"Dr Finklestein doesn't want us to cause trouble." Explained Barrel "But this way we can bring Mr Oogie back without the town knowing!"

"BARREL!" Shouted the other two angrily. This was clearly something that should not have been said. **"I see, but why so much secrecy? Surely the other citizens would be overjoyed to discover that an individual is being returned to life? Unless…"**

"Mr Oogie Boogie man tried to kill Jack and take over town on two separate occasions." Lock shuddered as he spoke; there was something about this creep that forced the truth right out of you. **"I see. Intriguing." **The figure mulled this over. If this character was as dangerous and power-hungry as his reputation disclosed, he could be a very useful ally. Suddenly he realised he was still clutching the now blue-in-the-face Jaspers' throat and dropped him in surprise. **"I'll tell you what, children, if you solemnly vow to serve only I over the next month or so and not turn me in to the authorities I shall resurrect your Mr…err…Bogeyman."**

"Whatever you say!" Beamed Shock and the others followed suit.

"**Uncross your fingers."**

"Aw…"

"**On a side note, what did you say your names were?"**

"Lock!"

"Shock!"

"Barrel!"

Now that the ice had been broken down somewhat, and the atmosphere was more relaxed, the trio felt more free to use their energetic tone and take of their not-so-concealing masks.

"**You may refer to me as…the Professor."** At that, Professor Malicious felt the urge to burst into a loud, demonic evil laugh, which caused Barrel to wet himself and Lock and Shock to cower inside a nearby Jack O' Lantern.

At this same time, something mysterious was taking place at the old graveyard. The crypt doors at the feet of an old statue started to clang violently, opening and shutting at regular intervals, as if someone was trying to open it from the inside. Finally, there came an enormous crash, the doors nearly flying off their hinges, and a pair of bizarre looking creatures came tumbling out. One was small, fluffy, and looked like some sort of chicklet, the other was tall woolly and resembled a kind of black labradoodle, both resembled nothing less than the work of a cartoon artist with lots of time on their hands.

When the two finally got to their feet, they began to realise that their plan for the day had gone somewhat awry. "We're he-oh." Began the dog-like creature "Say, uh Eevie? Do American cities always look this, uh, creepy?"

The mothball creature looked around to see what the dog was talking about, then smacked himself in the forehead.

"Doodle Poodle, you mindless pooch. This ISN'T Washington D.C.!" The agitated bird delivered a thwack to the dog's skull, and a pound of graphite string came out of the pooches' ears. "Now let ME see the map," Commanded the bird. "That is, if you haven't already eaten it."

As it transpired, the dog, which had been dubbed 'Doodle Poodle' by his cohort, had not devoured the map, and so, having disentangled it from the creature's fur, the bird-thing began to read the map.

"Oh, flipping heck." Groaned the fluffy little thing as he traced their path along the unfeasibly large road map, "You see we should have taken a LEFT at Silent Hill, and a RIGHT at Endsville! How on earth could you get that wrong?!"

"Gee, I dunno, Eevie…"

"Doodle, for the last time, the name is _Evil Weevil_." Spelled out the fluffball, "As in 'Evil Weevil, Greatest Fictional Villain of all Time?'"

"Wow, I didn't know you were the greatest fictional villain of all time."

"Well, not yet anyway, not now that your incompetence has mucked up the one plan that could have got me a name in the business!" His frustration now spent, Evil Weevil took some time to examine his creepy surroundings. "Well," He said at last. "Since we're here, we might as well take a look around, to see if there's any evil plots to be made in this warped and gothic settlement in the middle of nowhere. Come along, Doodle."

With that, Evil Weevil jumped onto Doodle Poodle's shoulders and the hopeless pair padded off into the night, little knowing that this would be the beginning of the strangest adventure of their lives.


	4. Marriage and Malevolence Begin

At long last, everything was ready. The decorations were in place, the congregation was ready, and Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King and groom-to-be, stood before the altar dressed in a brilliant tuxedo and a billowing cape,

The town hall had been transformed into a kind of twisted anti-church by a handful of extremely imaginative-to–say-the-least decorators, the famous Street Band was providing the music, and not to mention the entire town and it's mother had turned up to view the spectacle. Every chair was filled, those who couldn't sit hid under the floorboards, those who couldn't fit hung from the rafters, and those who wouldn't hang simply listened in through the wall.

Jack was ready, the flower 'girls' were ready, the Mayor who presided to marry the pair was ready, but there was still one thing missing, the bride herself, Sally Finklestein. Hardly anyone had seen her all day; those who had were sworn to secrecy. "That's Sally for you." Her father, Dr Finklestein, had muttered, "The blasted girl is never around when you need her. Always running off and slipping Deadly Nightshade in your' soup."

It had been no small task persuading the good doctor to marry his finest creation off, but eventually, after making a wife with a lifespan over three months or less, Finklestein had conceded. It was now or never, but where in the world was she?

The congregation was getting restless, but poor old Jack was worried out of his skull. The pre-wedding jitters were finally getting to him, and bizarre questions floated through his mind. Where is she? Has her stitching come undone? Has she run away with another man? Has she been killed? Will I be next? All of those never-ending questions going on and on and on.

Suddenly, at a hidden signal, the rusty organ in the corner sprang to life. Accompanied by the numerous moans of infernal instruments, a haunting butchering of the Bridal Chorus re-echoed throughout the building. All heads turned to the doorway, which swung wide as would the gates of Hades, and in drifted Sally Finklestein.

The animated ragdoll was adorned in the finest wedding gown anyone had seen in a lifetime, as orange as the sun in some parts yet as red as her hair in others, and draped with the skins of old dead bats. From her stitched on ears hung eyeball earrings 'borrowed' from the corpse of Billy McBronze himself, and from her neck hung a necklace bearing a gem that glowed a brilliant sapphire.

Many mortal men would have taken one look at her, then fled and never looked back, but Jack saw beyond the dress hued with blood, and the stitches that covered his bride's face, and saw the true beauty within her, the woman he would always love. Then, as she stepped alongside him, and their eyes met, he turned back to the altar, still trying to preserve his pride. He nodded to the Mayor. The Mayor cleared his throat. It was time to begin.

\/

"So, this is the lair of the Boogieman."

While the wedding was still taking place back at the town, Lock, Shock and Barrel had lead Professor Malicious into the hideout of the infamous Oogie Boogie himself. Right underneath the trio's treehouse there laid a massive underground casino, filled with the most startling assortment of insects, bats and skeletons. Unfortunately, the long unused lair had grown old and dilapidated over time, the backlights were gone, the iron maiden was coming off its' hinges and the massive casino wheel lay in ten different sized pieces. With only the ghosts providing light, the fellowship picked their way through the once-great ruined cavern.

"What a dump," Muttered Jasper. "This place looks woise than Prof with a hangover, and there 'aint NOTHIN' worse than Prof with a hangover!"

One swift kick and Jasper was clinging to the wall above everyone's heads. "I trust this place has seen better days?" asked Malicious.

Barrel nodded "It used to have loads of booby traps and cool stuff like that, but it kind of fell apart after Mr Oogie died again."

"In that case, to business at once!" Malicious strode to the centre of the room, and produced a strange pen-like device. "What the heck is THAT?" Exclaimed Lock.

"This, my boy, is a Psychic Summoner. I invented it myself. When I state a rhyme-based command, all the things I call will leap into action and obey me utterly." Lock and Barrel looked at each other and grinned. They could use one of those. "But how is it gonna help bring Oogie back?" asked Shock.

"Elementary, my dear Shock. If you can't catch the bugs, let the bugs come to you." At that, Malicious raised the Psychic Summoner high above his head and pressed the button. An eerie light came from the nib, and a thin mist swirled around the group. The ghosts backed away in fear, and even Jasper felt his skin crawl.

Crystal skull and fiery gourds,

Draw nigh bugs of hallowed hordes.

Scarlet Djinn and Lion's scar,

Gather yourselves, wherever you are.

Snow-pale skin and night-black hair,

Come to me at Oogie's lair!

\/

Back at Halloween Town, the citizens were abuzz with chatter. The wedding was over and the reception was just beginning. Everyone was sat at his or her places at a wooden building built especially for the occasion. Then, the Mayor tapped his spoon against his glass, and everyone fell silent. "And now," he said, "The groom would like to make a speech."

Jack rose to his feet, as did Sally. "Friends," he began, "When I stood at the altar this evening, I was filled with doubts, with worries, with fears… They are all gone now." He stared into Sally's eyes as he continued. "Sally, when I first met you, I felt this feeling that I hadn't felt since when I could still feel my heartbeat. I didn't exactly know what it was, or what to make of it. I tried to ignore it for a while, to think of you as just a friend. But that all changed at that fateful Christmas two years ago, remember that? That was when I truly realised that you loved me, and that I was in love with you, too." Sally smiled.

He went on. "Sally, tonight has been the greatest night of my life…or, so to speak." He chuckled sheepishly, and then composed himself. "…And I will cherish it always." Sally kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I propose a toast!" The mayor exclaimed, raising his glass. "To the newlyweds, may they live long and rule wisely!"

"To the newlyweds!" was the enthusiastic reply as everyone tapped their glasses together.

KRACK-A-DOOM! At that moment came an almighty thunderclap that shook the very foundations of the building. The congregation jumped and started to murmur uneasily.

"Could you turn down the lightning machine just a bit?" The Mayor whispered to Doctor Finklestein on the other table. "I didn't install any lightning machine!" Protested the Doctor. "I mean, I wish I had, but I didn't!"

"Jack, what's happening?" Whispered Sally in a frightened tone as she cowered behind the table.

"Try to stay calm, Sally." Said Jack, but before long the room was bathed in a flickering blue light, and a mist rose at the citizen's feet. Wasps on the ceiling suddenly took off and began to swirl. Spiders abandoned their webs and swarmed over the windows. A few men would say that they saw a shadowy face drift across the moon.

CRASH! The door to the building suddenly split open, and a grotesque skeleton burst in. The creature stared at Jack through eyeless holes, gave a grating caw and lunged at him. It grabbed at his neck and the two wrestled around on the floor. Eventually Jack managed to push the beast off of him, and then grabbed a shard of wood as it resumed the attack.

Some of the wasps that flew overhead suddenly decided to team up on Jack as well, and swooped down on him as he struggled with his attacker. Jack desperately tried to drive the bugs away, but they managed to subdue him and send him to down. A few spiders joined in as well, dropping onto him and using their webs to tie him up as he fell to the ground. The skeleton towered over him and raised its fist for the final blow.

Abruptly, a huge and hairy hand blocked the thing's blow, and it was lifted high above its assailant's head. Jack looked up in alarm, just in time to see a loyal farmhand hurl the skeleton to the other side of the room. There was a loud crash, and the creature split into multiple pieces strewn across the floor. Startled, the bugs scattered, and then made a break for the door.

All was silent for a while, save for the buzzing of insects and the occasional thunderclap. Jack got to his feet unsteadily, staggered over to where the skull of the skeleton was resting, and his eye sockets grew wide with fear. He was shaking, not because he was almost killed, or even because of the chill that was filling the air, but because he now recognised the skeleton that had attacked him. It was a minion of none other than Oogie Boogie.


End file.
